de minimis

adjective

de min·​i·​mis dē-ˈmi-nə-məs 

dā-ˈmē-ni-mis

: lacking significance or importance : so minor as to merit disregard

de minimis fringe benefits

what amounts to a de minimis tax increase

Did you know?

Proponents of readable prose over jargon and legalese might argue that the last thing 20th-century American jurisprudence needed was another Latin term. Yet here we have a legal term that entered English only around 1950. Perhaps we should clarify: the legal doctrine of de minimis non curat lex ("the law does not concern itself with trifling matters") has been around for a while, but use of de minimis on its own is relatively recent. At first, the shortened phrase was simply used to refer to the legal doctrine itself ("the de minimis rule"). Then it came to be used more broadly as an adjective ("de minimis contacts with the defendant"). Finally, de minimis leaked out of the courtroom and into the world at large.

Synonyms

• chicken
• footling
• inconsequential
• inconsiderable
• insignificant
• measly
• Mickey Mouse
• minute
• negligible
• niggling
• no-account
• nominal
• paltry
• peanut
• petty
• picayune
• piddling
• piddly
• piffling
• pimping
• slight
• trifling
• trivial

Examples of de minimis in a Sentence

investors disappointed by stock dividends that were decidedly de minimis

Recent Examples on the Web

Unfair competition for domestic companies is the same reason American lawmakers like Senators Sherrod Brown and Rick Scott and Representative Earl Blumenauer have been pushing for action on de minimis in a rare show of bipartisan unity during a time of congressional gridlock. —Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019

But in terms of their efficacy, their capacity is de minimis compared to ours. —Joseph R. Biden, Foreign Affairs, 23 Jan. 2018

In 2023, for the first time, more than 1 billion de minimis packages came through U.S. customs, up from 134 million packages in 2015. —Didi Tang, Fortune Asia, 4 Mar. 2024

During the pandemic, when e-commerce purchases soared, so did the use of de minimis. —Jordyn Holman Audra Melton, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, concerning trifles

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Legal Definition

de minimis

adjective

de min·​i·​mis dē-ˈmi-nə-məs, dā-ˈmē-ni-mis 

: lacking significance or importance : so minor as to be disregarded compare substantial

Note: An action may be dismissed if the claim or cause is considered de minimis.

Etymology

New Latin, concerning trifles